<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Third Time's a Charm by Cyanide_Dreams</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23079982">Third Time's a Charm</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cyanide_Dreams/pseuds/Cyanide_Dreams'>Cyanide_Dreams</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Peaky Blinders (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Bargaining, Brooding, Dominance, First Time, Illustrated, M/M, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Mentions of Grace - Freeform, Miscarriage, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pain, Porn With Plot, Porn with Feelings, Power Play, Rough Sex, Scent Kink, Scenting</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 10:48:13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Explicit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>15,277</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23079982</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cyanide_Dreams/pseuds/Cyanide_Dreams</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Tommy quit supressants and blockers for his wedding, but Grace dies and he has to deal with three possible solutions.</p><p>(Now illustrated)<br/>(New sketch added)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Tommy Shelby/Alfie Solomons</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>67</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>220</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Grief</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>-Hi, everyone! I know this chapter is short, but it only serves as an intro. The rest are longer and will be posted in a few days, I just had to get this out of my mind, because it's been eating be up.<br/>-Thank you so much for reading! Kudos and comments are always greatly appreciated!<br/>-English isn't my native language so, even though I read this like a hundred times, any mistakes are shamefully mine and I apologize.<br/></p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>He'd been sitting in his office at Arrow House for a while now, smoking and drinking while looking out the window, staring into nothing. The ticking of the clock echoed down the hall. The doctor had told him it'd only be a matter of time before he started cycling again and he'd been right. Now that Grace was dead, he'd also said that, when that time finally came, he'd have to make a choice, for he'd remained unmarked. Thus, even though it'd return gradually, given his age, it'd come strong, since he was still fairly young and had no real attachments.</p><p>So, the man had added, he had three possible solutions to choose from when it hit full force or became unbearable: he could go back to suppressants and blockers, find an alpha to mollify most of the physical symptoms, or seek for isolation during a couple of days and wait it out. However, though it still remained undecided, he was starting to feel that vaguely familiar pull of lust and he’d started to shuffle possible courses of action.</p><p>Reason called for mandatory isolation ruled by mourning, but body and spirit thought there was wasn't much to lose in trying to allure a trustworthy alpha to do the job in the long run. He'd be able to keep the senses his recovering status had honed so much, such as the sense of smell his years of cigarette abuse had dulled to numbness and the newfound capacity to see even further into the possible consequences of his schemes and machinations, which only turned him into an even better strategist. Still, it surprised him to realize he'd almost forgotten what it was, for he'd gone into suppressants when he was very young and even tried illegal methods of chemical sterilization before going to the war, trying hard to conceal and ignore that part of himself.</p><p>However, it was there. It was back. He could feel it and it was far from being as tortuous as he remembered. His skin was getting hotter by the hour and everything started to feel and look so sensual it was hardly unpleasant. The grazing of fabric against the skin was also becoming harder to overlook so, he stood up, downing his drink, and headed outside, into the gardens. Holding a cigarette between his lips, he unbuttoned his vest and shirt, right before crossing the threshold.</p><p>When he stepped outside the door, the flesh, finally free, seemed to feed on the coolness of late hours. He walked and smoked until he leaned onto one of the fountains, splashing some cold water on his burning skin, rubbing it down his chest and abdomen absentmindedly, sighing at the bite of winter frost. Estrus and alcohol numbed him out; too hot and drunk not to revel in the cold breeze. The wind fanned the heat away in waves, as if struggling to put out flame. Tommy walked into the darkness beyond the trees, drawing a long and last toke of smoke before tossing the cigarette away. Ambers flashed in the dark before he stood still, breathing vaporous huffs into the night air as he studied the horizon.</p><p>He'd been drinking for weeks now. It had been a month since Grace died, or had it been a week? A year, perhaps? It certainly felt like it, but he'd been putting too much alcohol and drugs in between to remember. He only had head for business now and he had to meet Alfie the next day to settle on some embarkment. He’d call, but he wouldn’t handle it through the phone. Last time he did, it had played against him. Besides, something deep down told him it was better to talk to him face to face. He’d done his fair share of thinking and he hadn’t seen or thought about the man since before the funeral. Now, the memory of Alfie came to speak of an old certainty of his past. No matter how much he’d lost, the world remained the same and Alfie still ran that bakery in Camden Town.</p><p> </p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Bargain</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Tommy meets Alfie at the bakery for doing business and strikes a bargain.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>-Sorry it took a bit longer than expected, but I really hope you like how this is turning out.<br/>-Next chapter will be pure smut and it's almost done.<br/>-Kudos and comments are always greatly appreciated! :D</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>He'd gotten lost in thought while sitting in the car outside the bakery wondering about turning back. The second time that heat had crawled up on him, it had been stronger. It had made him lay in damp sheets, heaving naked and dreaming awake, but he’d been able to manage just fine. However, this time, something inside his gut told him it was getting bad, that he should have stayed inside. Alfie's ringed finger tapping at the window confirmed the physician’s advice, because now he knew for sure Solomons could smell him. It had even lured him out. This had chosen to happen by the end of every second month and it was by the end of each that he had to do numbers with his business partner. Perhaps his body was trying to tell him something, making that pull an omen in itself, he pondered. </p><p>"Are you planning to come inside? You're making some of my bakers go restless. Are you looking to cause a riot here, Tom?"</p><p>Alfie escorted him into the bakery. Tommy had been so wrapped up in it, he hadn't noticed some bakers gathered outside now returning to their duties.</p><p>The first time Alfie had caught that scent, it had been so very faint it only graced his nose if the air was waved his way. It was so mild, but so promising, and it had danced into his office right behind Tommy. That had been six months ago and he hadn’t touched the subject out of respect towards the man's grief.</p><p>The second time it hit him, it had been a bit stronger, an ever-present aroma permeating the air and, even though they'd had several business meetings in between through which it had seemed to disappear, there it was again, beckoning. Solomons had frowned throughout the whole meeting. Still, he had proved respectful towards Tommy, though it was only starting to make him wonder.</p><p>Another couple of business meetings and two months later, Shelby had showed up in his office smelling even better. Their meeting carried on as usual, but that delightful scent had returned once again and it was a lot stronger and more pungent. To Alfie, it was simply maddening and full of enticing promises he'd never really quite entertained for himself. If he closed his eyes for a second while letting it flood his senses, it just made him think of an endless field swayed by winds that pointed him home. He swore he could almost hear it bristling.</p><p>He'd never smelled something so inebriating. It made him want and ponder on things he had laid to rest a long time ago and if Shelby would allow or risk any of them. Still, despite smelling as good as he was vicious, Solomons would never underestimate Tommy’s cunning mind, for he knew him to be a rather dangerous and superstitious little thing. However, it was all starting to add to the notions he already had of his business partner and the resulting combination between smart, deadly and <em>breedable</em> stroke something very deep that only sprung to nestle in his chest and groin. It seemed to pull him toward a big unknown, something he’d always dutifully ignored: mating for good. In their line of work, having friends or family only translated into another weak spot, but not Tommy, he realized. The gipsy was pretty good at taking care of himself.</p><p>How come he'd never smelled this when they’d met? It was so rare to find someone like Tommy, an omega with so much power and ambition, smart as a devil and so prone to violence. He’d make quite a fucking claim. It was a while since he’d come to think of Tommy as a friend, but now, he <em>coveted</em>. Alfie had never really liked soft and tender, and it drove him to tip his nose and take a deep breath, closing his eyes and displaying straightforward appreciation of Tommy’s scent for the first time, laying the opening card on the table.</p><p>“Why, like the smell?” Tommy dared, looking back at him straight in the eye as soon as Alfie returned the stare, coming down from the high. Shelby never shied away, always too full of himself. “Just creeps up on me sometimes”, he continued while taking a deep draught to his cigarette, emphasizing the point. “Following me fucking everywhere I go now”, he moved on as he exhaled, grinning tiredly as he shot Alfie a sideways glance through a cloud of smoke.</p><p><em>Well, </em>want blunt? Leave it to Tommy. He'd never beat around the bush, would he? He'd caught Alfie sniffing the air and eyeing him out before, but he was stating the fact now and Tommy didn't have to ask about or ponder on it to know what it meant. Alfie was displaying quite an open interest and, after spending two heats touching himself, isolated, drunk and sweaty, it was only making him wonder about what it would be to spend one with Alfie. Would he fuck as he talked? Always straight to the point and once there intently dancing around it? Would Alfie fuck as he looked; messy, brutal and enticing? He took another deep draught to his cigarette at the thought, for it was playing against him, tensing and stabbing his spine, resulting in another wave of heat and musk.</p><p>“Well,” Alfie scratched his beard and sharpened his gaze as it mingled and flooded his nose, “I’d say you got something damn sweet going on there,” he paused. “Must be similar to how the promise of green fields smelled to Noah after that fuckin' rain, ei? Got off suppressants and blockers for your wedding? How bloody sweet of you,” Alfie smirked as he remembered sending flowers to the widower. "Can you still carry?"</p><p>“That’s none of your business,” Tommy returned with a frown that warned Alfie about being close to crossing a line. <strike></strike></p><p>“It is if you come walking through my door smelling like that and being smart about it, Tom. It’s too provocative, even for you, and that makes it utterly rude to say the least, don’t you think?” There was a threat there. It was something deeply uncivilized and lured Tommy in. It promised to subject him to a certain kind of violence that nailed him to his seat, making him smirk at Alfie daringly, for he was getting under the man’s skin like he never imagined he’d be able to and now, he had Alfie on the prowl, waiting for an explanation, or an invitation, and his hands started shaking lightly at the realization. An inebriating and vaguely familiar feeling started spreading inside him. It crept inside his chest and lower belly, growing into his brain like poison, taking hold of his impulses and egging him on.</p><p> “I think, we might be able to work something out,” Tommy replied as he realized he was losing the fight against the body. He’d managed to isolate himself the first two times, but instinct had taken over the game now, almost turning him into a passive spectator. He'd lost the battle against the flesh, though it hadn’t always played fair, for it had lured him into this. It was as smart as his mind was, at least it could grant it that. Reason had been ambushed and it was already assessing the risks, as it always did, aware and conniving; it raced. A passing wave of doubt washed over him at knowing himself driven by a rather new thirst and the spicy fragrance born from suddenly finding himself torn by such inner contradiction had Solomons gritting his teeth. That beckoning and sweet-smelling void stretched into sinful visions.</p><p>Alfie leaned back on his chair for a few seconds, savoring the aftertaste, before slowly standing up. He walked around his desk and then leaned back on it, crossing his arms and standing before Tommy, staring at him intently. The tension building in the air only mingled with that scent emanating from Shelby and made Solomons take another deep breath, committing that scent to memory.</p><p>Suddenly, closeness made Alfie’s scent hit Tommy too. It had always been there, like white noise. It had made him trust Solomons even though he’d crossed him with Sabini. The epiphany stroke him like a blow to the head, leaving him cold. It was heavy, dirty and deeply penetrating and it gripped Tommy like a narcotic haze. There was a reason why he hadn’t identified it as Alfie’s before: his deteriorated sense of smell and the fact that it wasn't the bakery that smelled that way and rubbed on Alfie. It was Alfie's scent that flooded the place. So musky. He'd be lying if he said he didn't like the smell of that bakery, but he hadn't realized Alfie’s scent was the heart of it. It caught on everything; a heavy musk with deep tinges of sandalwood and what could only be described as damp books.</p><p>Now he knew what the body had known, but his mind had ignored. How far could the body bend a man’s will then? He had been deceived by his own self and the closer Alfie got the stronger the grip he had on Tommy and he moved until he almost loomed over him. The gipsy stopped him with one hand and gently pushed him back, noticing how hard Alfie’s body was; pure muscle.  </p><p>“What’s in it for me?” Tommy urged, keeping him at arm’s distance and looking up at Alfie with a sharp stare, his nature taking the best out of him. He’d take most advantage of this situation. Having the upper hand with Alfie was something truly rare and it was fucking electric. It talked about pushing Solomons into using all the tools at his disposition and Tommy not being able to overlook Alfie's obvious interest. He'd rather take pleasure in toying with Alfie for a bit than just give. If you had something someone else wanted, you had to make it worth and he just couldn’t leave without testing Alfie’s boundaries.</p><p>"How about I give you that extra ten percent you started off with on this embarkment in return for letting me take a whiff?"</p><p>"A ten percent for a whiff?" He retorted with a mocking smile, for it was quite a lot of money. Still, that didn’t mean he had to play nice. "I'm not a whore, Alfie," he warned, “fuck off.”</p><p>"Look, Tom, I never thought I'd say something like this," Alfie mustered, "but it's not always about the money. I'm not trying to buy you off, I'm offering the only thing I have and am willing to bargain with besides me charming self. It is as valuable to me, as yours is to you.,” Alfie paused. “A warm body, I can have anytime I want,” he continued, “but it wouldn't be you, nor would it have your cunning mind scheming at me through those fucking gorgeous blue eyes while I make it mine, now, would it? I bet you look damn striking in bed, all flushed and supple, dazed and still trying to conceal that field of yours you had been so jealously trying to hide," he continued with a hunter's grin and squinted his eyes as he leaned forward onto his desk. “No, Tom, better take it as a courting gift or something like that.”</p><p>The image of Alfie trying to force him into impossible angles shot several jolts of pleasure at a strangely new anticipation that crawled up his spine and skin, for Alfie was strong and reveled in it, and thus he knew it wouldn't be a gentle experience. It would be as violent as it would be sensual; mating through dominance, physical and emotional. It was suffocating and Tommy found himself wondering about the warmth it triggered inside him.</p><p>There was, indeed, no reason to be offended, quite the opposite. Alfie just couldn't help himself when he ran into something he wanted. In that, they were so much alike, Tommy mused.</p><p>"So," he questioned, "what do you say?"</p><p>"That I'm too fucking old for this, Alfie."</p><p>Solomons knew he’d have to spur Tommy’s interest. He wouldn’t think of imposing himself on the gipsy and he wouldn’t just do it for money. He’d have to offer something Shelby wanted and Alfie knew he always wanted more power. His impressive and outstanding hierarchy made him expect no less.</p><p>“You could have it your way, you know?” and he paused at T.’s silence. “Not my business, nor me money, but this…”, he pointed between both, “…you and I,” Alfie continued while arching his brow. “Yeah, you could have it your way and then… we'll see.”</p><p>“I’m not looking to compromise,” Tommy warned firsthand.</p><p>“Me neither and you’re so fucking savage and smart I don't care to change you, why would I? You could do whatever you want, go wherever you want, or see whoever you want, any time you like", Solomons stated while waving a hand in the air in a gesture that translated as carefree, "as long as you come back to me by the end of the day , you see?", he finished as he leaned back on his chair, waiting for Tommy to make his move. That was what Shelby was after if he wasn’t mistaken, he couldn’t fool Alfie. He’d probably tried to spend those days by himself and as it grew into him, he’d chosen to look for someone, or at least his body did. An alpha to keep that pull of nature under control. Now he scratched his beard, looking straight at Shelby, waiting in askance. He'd known since the first time he'd smelled that sweet scent that if something like this ever happened, it'd have to be under Tommy’s terms and Alfie was confident enough to let it be. They had to start somewhere.</p><p>Tommy eyed him up and down, and tilted his head as he took a draught to his cigarette; arrogant little thing he was, giving Alfie a half smile as he exhaled a cloud of smoke. He usually hated adulation, but being praised like that by someone like Alfie Solomons wasn't an everyday thing. It was mind numbing and filled him with pride, making him feel even more powerful and there was nothing he liked more or worked harder to get than the mind-numbing knowledge of having everyone within your reach, whether by fear, respect, loyalty or debt.</p><p>However, this was so different. Alfie wasn't asking or demanding, like everyone else around him did, he was bargaining, perhaps even offering. He was dangling valuables Solomons himself thought covetable in front of Tommy's face, seeing if he'd bite and, coming from Alfie, it made him feel really flattered, he had to grant him that, for he was doing a genuine effort to be charming in his own way, blunt and calloused, the only way Alfie knew and came natural to him. <em>What you see is what you get</em>, Solomons’ stare told him and it hit Tommy quite deep. He wasn't trying to impress Shelby, for he was confident of who he was, what he looked like and what he had, but he was doing his best to lure Tommy in and the gipsy found the display more than interesting; it tickled his curiosity, pulling even further.</p><p>Tommy realized he felt desired and not fought over, like he’d often started to feel with other people in his life. No. Alfie was trying to lure him in by making him feel like he was the only one that mattered, the only one worthy enough, and it was getting to his head.</p><p>“To be honest, Alfie, I didn’t think you’d ask for so little.”</p><p>"Little? Oh, no, I think you're getting it wrong, it's just that I know, Tom," Alfie paused, "I know that behind that mask of pride there isn’t much left, but empty words that sometimes only speak of your fucking loneliness, mate, and I'm smart enough to know and acknowledge how much I can ask and how much I could feel entitled to, but you definitely can't claim what people aren't willing to give, not without real threat or fear and, when it comes to you, I'm looking to reap what I sow, for I know you to be a resentful and unforgiving little thing. So, I'll take whatever you’re willing to give, if anything at all, see?"</p><p>“Business being apart from this?”</p><p>“Business being apart from this,” Alfie asserted.</p><p>As a gambling man, Tommy had an eye for a good wager and this time he gambled for eventual encounters with Alfie and the possibility of Solomons thinking twice about crossing him again. He was sure Alfie would be able to handle it with the same head he had for business, as would he. On the other hand, he could end up losing Alfie as a business partner, but then again, he could always try to talk him back into business. He was a good diplomat and now he was certain he had something to bargain with. So, that made it a two out of three, <em>right</em>? No one in their right mind would refuse such a stake. The odds made it hard to be ignored. Would he dare flip that coin?</p><p>He didn’t have to say much, his body language did the job, for a new found confidence had him relaxing back on his chair as he gave Alfie such a discreet smile that it threatened to go unnoticed. However, he got lost in thought for a minute.</p><p>When Greta died, his heart had been maimed. Then Grace died and another part of him had withered away, but now he could feel the ambers that remained. Alfie was only starting to feed that pagan fire. Tommy closed his eyes for a moment and saw the flames blazing in the darkness, flashing before him. Oh, how it burned. It blazed through his night like a funeral pyre fueled by Alfie’s promises, spoken and not.</p><p>He opened his eyes and fixed them on Alfie’s wondering stare and there he sat, torn between mind, body and heart, for each wanted to pull its own winning hand. The mind, an intellectual challenge; the body, the sexual fulfillment of a new and strengthening need; and the heart, a true and final partner in crime, who promised all the freedom Tommy could ever dream of.</p><p>Tommy had learned he should know better than playing with that fire, for he was great at doing business, but he always lost when it came to the heart. However, he felt twice as big and powerful at knowing Alfie Solomons wanted whatever he was physically and perhaps emotionally willing to give. The thought ran deep, resulting in a wave of slick and musk that didn’t go unnoticed to Alfie, who only scrunched his nose in pleasure. And added to the equation, there was a black, selfish and murderous little heart that had just skipped a beat at Alfie’s advances and was now pounding in his ears.</p><p>“I won’t chase you,” Alfie pushed on, but Tommy didn’t have to think much more about it. The stake just couldn’t get any better, so he only looked Alfie in the eyes.</p><p>“No need,” he finally dared and it was all Alfie could have asked for. The tension building in the air only mingled with that scent emanating from Shelby and made Solomons take another deep breath before grabbing Tommy by the lapel of his jacket with one hand and starting to pull him up. It wasn’t gentle, but Tommy thought he could handle him. He wouldn’t have Alfie any other way, but blunt and rough. He refused to submit for anything less.</p><p>Tommy’s left hand went to rest on Alfie’s forearm as he tugged back looking straight into Alfie’s eyes mischievously. It was dangerous and, although playful, the gesture only spoke of Tommy knowing he wasn’t such an easy claim, but it was all Alfie needed to let go of his jacket and go straight for his throat. He squeezed hard as the pressure made Tommy bare the skin. Alfie slowly leaned into the crook of his neck, taking a deep breath, and then another. Alfie’s breath burned the skin. <em>Damn, he’s strong</em>, blazed through as he felt his heartbeat creeping into his head and took his other hand to rest with the other, digging his fingers into Alfie’s forearm.</p><p>It wasn't until Alfie snaked his free hand around him, manhandling him up by the waist, that the physical strength of the man made itself evident to Tommy and the gipsy realized how much Alfie had been holding back. He was significantly stronger than him and it literally made him dizzy.</p><p>Alfie turned them round and pushed Tommy against his desk with his face still sunk in the crook of his neck. He then pushed his head against the side of Tommy's, nose now buried deep behind his ear while the hand that pried on his throat let go and undid the first two buttons of his shirt, pulling the collar open and releasing a warm wave of sinful spices that caused him poisoning visions. He lowered his head to bury his nose there as he pressed on Tommy’s lower back and then barely turned to take another deep breath right above that plain between Tommy's shoulder and neck, just where he would pierce the skin would Tommy ever allow it.</p><p>Shelby emanated such bodily warmth Alfie almost got lost in it, but the gipsy started to shudder every time the man took another lungful and felt weaker at each of those deep and throaty breaths Alfie brazed on his skin. They burned their way into his will and sluggishly started to translate into panting.</p><p>Alfie slowly stripped him off his jacket in response, and both could hear their own heartbeats. It was deafening and feverish. Tommy’s scent was so rich and alluring, but Alfie knew where it would be far more pungent and smiled to himself as he crouched down before Tommy, running a hand around his side and another down his chest and belly. His fingers caught on the hem of his pants as he unfastened them with his right hand and pushed Tommy's shirt up, as far as his vest would allow it, revealing a lean stomach and a soft trail of dark hair that crept up his to his navel and Alfie couldn’t refrain from running a thumb up such velvety path and then splayed his hand over the plains of his abdomen, pushing him still against the desk, making him dig his fingers on the edge to gain some balance.</p><p>Keeping Tommy’s shirt up with one hand, Alfie used the other and some blunt force to tug at Tommy’s pants by the buttons he'd so easily unfastened and bare but a patch of skin right above his hip. Tommy’s muscles rippled as Alfie caught sight of the waistband of his underpants and hooked his index and middle finger to slowly pull down at the hem of that last layer of cloth, just far enough to reveal a thin line of dark hair.</p><p>Taking his time to lean forward, he slowly dug his nose deep right into that soft spot he’d just exposed, pushing his face hard against Tommy's narrow waist and right into the hollow of his hips. Alfie took his time to take another deep breath, falling into the swoon, holding it in for a couple of seconds and then letting it go in a strangled sigh that spread its warmth through Tommy's soft skin and dark pubic hair. Grace had never really gone down on him while reveling on it like this and prostitutes always did as told, but this was so different. Alfie was breathing as if he drowned and it exerted a throaty groan from Tommy at the feeling and the anticipation caused by wondering if Alfie would suck him off with as much need. Would he swallow? He shuddered bad at the high caused by these new born fantasies, but Alfie made him feel as if he wanted to eat him whole and it sent shivers down his spine.  </p><p>Tommy was scented all over and Alfie hadn't been wrong. Here, with his nose dug deep, Tommy’s scent saturated his senses like nothing ever had and his brain was assaulted and paralyzed by how concentrated it was, mingled with sweat and musk it stung his nose and it layered so deeply, again and again, weaving with the infinite sway of that endless field. Furthermore, there was something almost imperceptible, sweet and coming in waves; it was very shy and tried to hide behind more pungent aromas, but it was there. It wasn't the evident grief coating that earthy smell of grass. He took another slow and throaty breath. It smelled like rain about to fall and like the wind did when it was calling for black, heavy clouds wafting in the horizon. If only Tommy would consent on him drowning there, perhaps he might be able to tell, but instinct was always faster and the words <em>fertile </em>and <em>ripe </em>came like a blow to the head, making him run his hands to Tommy’s hips and tighten his fingers with an iron grip, thumbing his hipbones.  </p><p>Shelby would never have seen this coming and it filled him with that familiar emotion again. The one that slowly spread through him and urged him on. It made something tick inside his head and all of a sudden it hit him. He knew what it was and he liked it. It was something he thrived for in every aspect of his life. It was power. Of a new kind, but huge power nonetheless and it was awfully seductive. It crept up his spine at the sight of Alfie at his knees before him, lost in him. The king of the Jews blinded by such a partial heat. It brought a small smile to his face, for that was real empowerment, mind you, though it might become dangerous. Still, he felt drunk with the sight, low sounds, kneading touches, fastening heartbeats and Alfie’s own scent.</p><p>He couldn't help himself and before he knew, he ran his fingers through Alfie's messy hair, finally fisting a handful and pulling him even further onto that sensitive hollow. Alfie opened his mouth in response, wide, hot, and searing; jaws wide open and lips sealing against his sensitive skin as if to bite on a chokingly big mouthful, but teeth only graced the skin as Tommy could feel that burning tongue moving up his pelvis and stopping on his hipbone, where Alfie started to suck really hard and then dug his teeth, unrestrained. It would leave a very ugly bruise the size of a small fist, but he’d learned that Tommy tasted the way he smelled.</p><p>Tommy threw his head back, for he found it as painful as it was arousing, but just as he was starting to get lost in it, Alfie withdrew, pushing himself away. "God damn, Tom, you're fucking toxic,” he groaned as he stood up while looking at Tommy with dilated eyes and heaving hard.</p><p>A couple of seconds flew by between them eyeing each other, both trying to assess the risks behind clever stares. If there was no more business to discuss, it would be wise for Tommy to leave or he’d just jump him then and there.</p><p> </p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Acceptance</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Tommy deals with giving in.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>-I'm sorry for the delay, but it turned out a bit longer than I expected.<br/>-Please remember English isn't my native language and, even though I read this like a hundred times, I apologize for any mistakes.<br/>-Thank you all for your kudos and comments, I'm usually shy to post or review, but you all have been amazing.<br/>-First smut scene ever and I'd be beyond grateful if you could tell me what you think :).<br/>-Hope you have as much fun reading it as I had writing it.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p> </p><p>“Now get the hell out of here, Tom, go get some blockers or whatever, for God's sake. Are you fucking feral?”, Alfie spurred between huffs while shaking his head with a frown. He really liked him unbroken, though, and he would have tried for so much more, but a whiff had marked the deal and it would be better for Tommy to leave.</p><p>Did the gipsy even know what he was doing? Was he fully aware of the implications for both if he stayed? For he really seemed somewhat oblivious about it and Solomons pondered on it, looking to understand Tommy's course of action. So, he stood there, trying to figure out what had taken over his business partner and what was this strange, new and unexpected game he was playing.</p><p>To Alfie, Tommy looked like a cunning, mischievous fox caught red handed, rubbing a palm lazily on that terrible bruise he’d left on his hip while still supporting himself on the wooden desk, smearing the blood he’d drawn from it on that milky skin. It was a fucking vision; curiosity seemed to be struggling against survival behind that half lidded dreamy stare and winning. Tommy’s eyes shone frighteningly clever and Alfie had always felt drawn towards intelligence.</p><p>Tommy suddenly realized Alfie would probably have his own ways about this, as he had for everything else, and he just couldn’t ignore the anticipation it caused him, for it crept up his spine and into his head. Still, there was no warning enough for what was about to happen, for he closed the distance between them, grabbing him by the sides of his face, digging his fingers in his beard. So close he touched his forehead to Alfie's, whose hands moved to grab Tommy by the throat and hip.</p><p>“Damn it, Tommy, act civilized, for God’s sake.” Alfie warned, looking at him straight in the eye, pupils still blown wide, but Shelby never backed down, always daring.</p><p>"Or what?" He almost whispered.</p><p>It was all Alfie needed to grab him by the waist and corner him against the nearest wall while Tommy's hands remained in place. Alfie went for the line of his jaw, but Tommy was fast, digging his fingers further back and into his hair, holding him off before he could reach him, as if trying to keep away a huge dog that had just jumped on him, but Alfie only frowned and squinted his eyes at him.</p><p>"You mark me, knot me, or punch me and it's the end of the line for me, but you can roughen me up without doing real harm. I wouldn't have you otherwise,” Tommy warned and it made Alfie hum low in delight, for it went straight to his groin, making something inside him burn and soar.</p><p>“<em>Good God</em>, whatever you want, Tom”, he groaned in baritone.</p><p>This certainly hadn't been part of the deal, but those last words echoed in Tommy's head until they got him high, leading the gipsy to close his eyes and release Alfie with a shudder, snaking his arms around his neck, allowing himself to butt his head against the side of the other man’s, rubbing his nose against his beard and breathing deep. There it was again. That musky bonfire that threatened to plague and push his mind into feverish dreams for years.</p><p>Alfie grunted at Tommy's disposition, for it was far better than he could have ever expected and thus he would, indeed, take whatever he was willing to put on the table. Obliging and with a throaty groan, he let go of Tommy's waist, starting to unbutton his vest and shirt as he nipped along his jaw and into the base of his neck.</p><p>When Alfie finished unfastening Tommy's clothes, he pushed back a bit, pressing him to the wall to take him in as he slowly spread them open. The gipsy could feel the fabric giving way, exposing him to Alfie’s stare; so intense he could feel it on his skin as Alfie bared his right shoulder, too curious to care, and what he found came like a blow to the head. He was unmarked.</p><p>Alfie just couldn't believe his fucking luck, good or bad. So, he softly ran his knuckles down Tommy's chest and then across the plains of his abdomen, finally smoothing his hands over his flat belly and then up and down his sides. Those hard, cold rings only added to the jolts such reverence caused in the gipsy, for Alfie's caresses were as flattering as they were demanding.</p><p>He opened his shirt further, noticing Tommy had inked his chest and loving the contrast on his skin. He traced the pattern with his fingers, splaying his hand on it while pressing hard on his lower back and slowly grinding against him, making him groan and arch into his touch as he closed his eyes and threw his head back, a dry thud against the wall.</p><p>"Ah..." He gasped when Alfie leaned over to kiss that rising sun, replacing his fingers with his mouth, as hot as Tommy had felt it on his hip, so hungry and searing, nipping and kissing his way up his neck and along his jaw as he tilted his head for him, and Alfie opened up again, as if he’d eat him whole, making his heartbeat pound in his ears.  </p><p>Alfie’s hands then traveled along the texture of his ribs, grasping and resting on his hips, grabbing so hard Tommy started slipping away, turning that needy panting into ragged gasps against Alfie’s lips as he shuddered. He'd been with more than a few, but Shelby was sheer poison. So soft and warm, so <em>alive</em> to the touch, he drank his warmth and smell, getting high on them as he waited for him.<strike></strike></p><p>It took the gipsy a few seconds to make up his mind, for he knew there would be no going back. These kinds of things couldn't be undone. Still, he wanted it and found himself unable to fight against it. So, he pulled Alfie by the neck, his hands still resting there, drawing him in as he slowly gave him a short, sloppy, open-mouthed kiss; hot, wet and demanding, pressing his mouth to Alfie’s lower lip.<strike></strike></p><p>It had been short and probing, but it left Alfie lightheaded. When they parted, Tommy could feel Alfie's breath on his face, so warm he finally drove a hand to pull Alfie's hips flush against his own, sealing their lips together once again and licking the seam as if in a drunken haze; slow, clumsy and unashamed.</p><p>It caused Alfie to slowly open up and drink him in, savoring the whiskey on Tommy’s tongue and the taste of the fifty cigarettes he chain-smoked a day in his breath. Not everyone would find it sweet, but Alfie groaned with hunger when Tommy deepened the kiss, delving even further and sucking his breath away.</p><p>He'd caught Alfie somewhat unguarded, for the man hadn't expected things to go this way and it made him reel, because fucking was one thing, but sex with such kind of kissing tasted like intimacy to him, no matter how they wanted to call it or how rough Tommy claimed to want this.</p><p>When they broke apart, heaving for air, they were already grinding against each other, slow, but painfully hard and Alfie tightened his grip on Tommy's waist even further. The skin would bruise for sure, but Alfie still levered him easy enough for Tommy to shove him back in surprise when the pulling and pushing of his hips made it pretty evident that he was trying to turn him around. So strong he was succeeding, but Tommy had pushed him off.</p><p>Alfie only gave up a devilish smile, closing the short distance Tommy had put between them, grabbing him by the throat and squeezing hard, pinning him to the wall and leaning into his ear. Tommy could feel his beard against his cheek while Alfie snaked his free hand underneath his shirt, smoothing his fingers all the way from his navel to his neck and then over to his right shoulder, pressing a thumb to that tender spot, making Shelby buck reflexively against him at the shadow of a greater pleasure.  </p><p>"Keep the gun if you want,” Alfie reassured.</p><p>It took Tommy a few seconds in which he closed his eyes before finally nodding against Alfie's head, pushing him back just enough to twist and turn against the wall. The coolness of the brick on his chest and stomach as Alfie pressed him to it with his own body made him realize how hot he was and it soothed the heat waving off his skin.</p><p>He drew his arms above his head, tucking his face between them. He could feel Alfie unfastening his braces and his heartbeat crept into his head, making everything spin. Tommy tried to take a deep breath, but it hitched in his throat when he felt Solomons’ calloused hands travelling down beneath his underpants, right above his thighs.</p><p>Strong fingers kneaded his flanks, rubbing his skin while Alfie breathed onto the crook of his neck and then drew the back of his shirt up. Vest and holster restricted how much he could bare, but Tommy’s skin was cream and velvet and he couldn’t help but run a hand over his back, splaying his fingers as if to measure their size and then smoothing them down and up his side, brushing a nipple and drawing back again, pressing his lips to the plain between his shoulder blades, forcing the fabric while grinding slowly and hard against him.</p><p>If he could only take his time with Tommy, but both could hear the bakers talking down the hall and Alfie wouldn't risk having someone walking in on them, so it’d have to be fast. There was no way he would let this one go. He just took a quick look around, squinting his eyes; an animal ensuring there was no one nearby. It was clear and he hummed at hearing the bakers far off the isle, turning back to stare at Tommy, deep and bearing, trying to figure him out.</p><p>He'd kill for this catch. That he would, he mused as he moved to nuzzle Tommy's nape, taking a deep breath and loving the feel of the buzzcut in that top fade on his face as he started pulling Shelby’s pants down, making the fabric braze the skin, lowering them to rest right beneath his ass before looking down. Such a sight, so tight. Silk and cream. And the curve of his lower back, so proud. He ran his free hand up that sensual slope and then slowly dragged it down, smoothing it around Tommy's ass, spreading him softly and kneading hard. The gipsy let out a heated sigh, feeling a wave of wetness cooling the skin as it trailed down the tops of his thighs.</p><p>Alfie leaned over and muffled a deep groan into the crook of his neck. It was so intense Tommy flinched at the shivers it caused, leading Alfie to nuzzle on his scruff before sinking a hand in the cleft of his ass, rubbing and then reaching down and round between his thighs to cup his balls and gather some slickness before travelling up again. Tommy was panting hard. His breath, hot and heavy, catching in his throat when he felt Alfie probing his entrance. The rush of adrenaline that coursed through the gipsy made his hands shake and his heart skipped a beat. A cold, nervous sweat broke over his entire body. It wasn't that Tommy didn't know how it worked, he just hadn't any firsthand experience.</p><p>Alfie could feel his shudders, as well as smell his anticipation and distress. It was so bad an acrid wave hit his nose; it was fleeting, but it was there. <em>Fear</em>. Tommy was scared. He could feel his rapid heaving underneath him. His broken breathing. Shelby just couldn't control the shaking and felt like a fucking lad, cursing under his breath.</p><p>"Easy, Tom, easy," he crooned into his ear, taking a hand to caress his back before travelling lower and starting to push a finger inside, causing him to tense and gasp in surprise. It took a bit of stretching, but about the third time he sunk it in, he brushed something that shot up Tommy’s spine. It was the shadow of something greater.</p><p>Unfortunately, Alfie could hear noise down the hall and, cursing under his breath, he rushed, adding his middle finger. Tommy flinched and groaned in discomfort, but when Alfie’s fingers scissored in and hooked past his prostate, brushing the mound of the reproductive cavity while pressing on that gland, Tommy tightened his abdomen and muffled a lewd cry. <em>The sounds he made.</em><strike></strike></p><p>However, Alfie mistook Tommy's reaction and unravelling pleasure as a sign to move on and retreated his hand. Shelby could hear the rustle of clothes behind him and then felt Alfie resting his weight against him, gripping his hips and rutting the length of his cock in the cleft of his ass a couple of times, slicking himself up before lining up, painfully hard and trying to press in, but the gipsy shied away, so tight his body wouldn't give. He scrunched his eyes shut, for he could feel Alfie taking a hand to help himself in, trying to lever his hips once again. There was no real delicacy between them, only suffocating need, but Tommy’s muscles wouldn’t yield.  </p><p>It took a third bit of maneuvering for him to find the right angle. However, he made sure to catch a glimpse of Tommy’s face when he pushed in for the first time, pulling his head back by the hair, snatching him out of his hiding place and hissing into his ear.</p><p>A dry <em>mmph</em> was followed by a long, low, painful moan, a wounded animal's. Tommy curled his hands into fists and squeezed his eyes shut, frozen in a silent cry.<em> Fucking </em>beautiful. Eyes tearing up and, <em>God</em>, he’d finally breached and he breached like no other, slowly giving way to the intrusion. A tightness so protesting in its final submission it was intoxicating, making Alfie forget himself, raveling in the way Tommy’s back arched so hard beneath him he had to move his hands and grip his hips really hard to stay inside. That man was so wonderfully violent in his apparent passivity.  </p><p>He waited for a moment, but Tommy wouldn’t budge, too lost in debating between thought, overwhelming pleasure, impending penetration and smothering pain. So, Alfie pulled out slowly, all the way before the head, but his muscles remained so tight they clenched him in, making him groan before slowly thrusting back as far as Tommy’s body would allow it, which wasn’t as deep as he would’ve wished.</p><p>He wrapped his arms around Tommy, across his chest and waist, tightening his grip like hell to keep him in place, positioning him flush between the wall and his own body, avoiding the gipsy from shying away as he slowly pulled out and then pushed back in once again, forcing those last two inches inside. He could hear Tommy wheezing out at the magnitude of the intrusion, losing his breath as Alfie bottomed out and made his hipbones dig into the brick, gritting his teeth, panting hard and heavy into the crook of his neck, lost in his heat, scent, intelligence and that astoundingly sensual violence.</p><p>But Tommy just couldn't take the stretch. It was too much. He felt like he'd break or something and he clenched his jaw trying to breathe through his nose. “Can’t… Breathe,” he ragged and Alfie loosened his grip, though not enough.</p><p><em>Fuck</em>, what the hell had he gotten himself into? His body wouldn't budge and tears were springing to his eyes as a response. Still, he shut them tight, letting the tears roll a down as he took a deep breath that came out as a rather wounded and strangled sound.</p><p><em>Damn</em>, it hurt. It hurt and burnt really bad. And there was <em>blood</em>, both could smell it. It suddenly hit them like a wave, but Tommy would take it. He’d already come this far and had to punish his body, make it understand that manipulations had consequences.</p><p>To Alfie, though, that smell did not only bring the war back, it was one of the things an alpha’s instinct craved the most and, added to that strangling pleasure, it summed up all revelations and made him shake in anticipation, for it had suddenly hit him like a heady wine: first blood wasn’t unusual in untouched omegas. Tommy had never indulged this until then and Solomons hadn’t seen it coming. He felt like a brute.  </p><p>That gradual smell had a crescendo similar to a youngling's beginning to present. It would ripen. What was this game the gipsy was playing? Still, Alfie was misinterpreting Tommy, who was unaware of the actual impact he was having on the Jew and it was starting to become evident to Solomons. Could Tommy really be that oblivious? Alfie suddenly realized <em>he was</em>.<strike></strike></p><p>It wasn’t a game, but he’d been as blinded by his scent and heat as a damn dog to realize. If Tommy was as unexperienced and uneducated about this as he seemed, he probably was letting his body call the shots. Why didn’t he say something?</p><p>"Never done this before, have you?” He muttered as he rested his forehead against Tommy's nape.</p><p>"No," he gasped, "never like this,” he added, watery eyes shut tight. That only aroused Alfie even more. He could only let out a throaty gasp as he buried his face on the crook of Tommy’s neck, feeling him shiver at his touch as he reached round with one hand, running his fingers down between his legs, gathering some blood-stained wetness. Tommy jolted at the brush against that bundle of nerves between his thighs before Alfie drew back up, leaving a trail of cooling slickness on his skin. To think he had never allowed anyone touch him like this made his hips buck into Tommy, who only muffled a cry of painful pleasure.</p><p><em>So responsive</em>, Alfie just wanted to thrust his way into oblivion, but it weighed on his conscience. He'd never forced or imposed himself like this on anyone and he was about to withdraw, but sensing Alfie's hesitation, Tommy softly pushed back, almost imperceptibly, before Alfie was able to retreat. Drawing a hand back to grab a fistful of clothes and pull him back in, Tommy kept him close, panting against the wall, no matter how many alarms his rational mind was setting off, telling him to beware, that Alfie was a bit more than he could take, that he was too much for him. It only sent tremors down his spine instead of translating into an instinctively natural deterrent.  <strike></strike></p><p>“You…”, came between Tommy’s huffs, “you smell... so fucking good, too”, he could finally gather, his mind askew, and Alfie finally realized Tommy seemed to be expecting some kind of tenderness in intimacy, but it certainly didn’t mean he looked for delicacy. To think he’d chosen him stroke such a deep chord inside Alfie he groaned against the gipsy’s neck, gripping his hips tightly, drawing out slowly and thrusting himself in again, all the way to the hilt this time. Tommy’s inexperienced muscles spasmed and twitched against the invasion. <em>Too big. So deep</em>.</p><p>And Tommy was so tight, the tightest he'd ever had. He was brazing, molten heat, liquid fire and velvet on the inside, and he smelled so sweet. That scent and his swaying field. His body, smaller than his, those so very narrow hips, the knowledge that he'd been awarded something untouched, Tommy's free spirit, his blissful ignorance about how deep he'd gotten under his skin, the smell of blood mixing with slick. It was all getting to his head as he slowly started thrusting in and out of Shelby, who moaned for the first time at a particularly hard shove that brushed something deep inside him. Something that felt like it could turn into so much more. It was overwhelming and it washed and jolted from head to toe, even though his thrive for self-preservation told him to be careful, that Alfie outpowered him by far, that he could still force him bad. <strike></strike></p><p>But Alfie pushed back in so hard at that throaty sound, it threw Tommy's mind in a blank and the gipsy couldn't help, but muffle a shriek at the excruciating pleasure of such numbing pain. Alfie thrusted with such stamina he could barely feel his toes touching the floor, for his hand had traveled around his left thigh, spreading it around his leg and sharpening the angle. <em>Fuck</em>, was all Tommy could think of. <em>So strong</em>, flashed through his mind again and again<em>. So good.</em><strike></strike></p><p>Alfie was starting to catch a pace, so hard he could hear Tommy’s gun butting against the wall and he focused on the warmth of Shelby’s body pressed to his. He'd never lost sight of it, for Tommy squirmed and trembled in his grapple, huffing and gasping for air, tensing up in pain and beginning to relax at a new pleasure.<strike></strike></p><p>Solomons loosened his grip and let his hands slowly travel down Tommy’s body, right above his thighs and then snaked them up underneath his shirt, running  them up and down his sides as he slowed the pace, taking a moment to feel Tommy’s warm and velvety skin to finally rest them on his hips and digging his fingers in his hipbones, hooking them into that hollow and pressing hard, kneading and tilting his hips by force, making the gipsy buck against the wall. He would have jumped if he had been touching the floor.<strike></strike></p><p>"Shit… Alfie!" Tommy yelped and instinctively pushed against the wall and onto Alfie's body, unconsciously throwing his head back to let it lean on his shoulder, arching his back as far as he could.</p><p><em>So fucking receptive</em>. Alfie had never believed compatibility stories. He’d always dismissed them as corny. But this… There was nothing corny about this… This was just fucking overwhelming.</p><p>He curled his fingers into Tommy's hair, thinking about how soft it was and leaning over to kiss along his jaw. He sucked bruises into his neck with his thrusts hardly faltering and teeth close to tearing that tender skin. Tommy melted into Alfie's touch, a harbinger of the most primitive sex.</p><p>Stretched to his limits and pinned to the wall by Alfie’s weight, there was only so much he could take. However, Tommy threw his arms behind his head, looping them around Alfie’s neck and causing him to shift, so he could fuck him deeper as he ran his hands up and down his chest and abdomen. There was a huge pressure building up inside and he struggled with instinct not to tug away from Alfie's grip, for it was almost too much to bear.</p><p>Despite the pain though, Tommy couldn't be harder. He was too aroused by Alfie's dominance, so flattering and tender, but never delicate, so strong; it said he was an alpha worth keeping for the mount. <em>God</em>, he never imagined his body could actually get lewder than his thoughts, but heats seemed to be all about this and it wasn't that bad. Not bad at all. No wonder some omegas where so sexual in nature. Who would anyone want a weak, unexperienced alpha without influence anyway? Such realization and final acceptance made his body slowly go slack, allowing Alfie to go deeper with a pleased grunt of surprise.<em> Finally</em>, Solomons mused thankful and pressing his lips to the side of Tommy’s neck.</p><p>Sex with Alfie wasn't only physical it seemed. His mind and spirit got off on it as much as his body did. His might, admiration and smile, that muscular body and stunning hierarchy, his war stories, fucking handsome face too and slightly crooked teeth -a prey dog's.</p><p>"Alfie...", escaped as praise, strangled and low, which he would have never expected to do, but the impact on the Jew was as surprising, for he could feel Alfie shudder as it left his lips, tucking his face against the crook of Tommy’s neck and taking a deep breath.</p><p>Solomons felt like losing his mind and gripped Tommy's hips tightly in order to hold on to somethings before losing himself to this man, changing the pace, going from slow and shallow to deep, long and hard. When he fastened his thrusts once again, Tommy melted away, giving up, feeling Alfie chasing after that constriction far up inside him, abusing his prostate on his way there and it was maddening. So fast and deep it made him feel like he was leaving his own body, almost pushing him over the edge.</p><p>Blood and slick eased that smothering friction, but did nothing to alleviate the stretch, and he felt like he was about to split. He would've never thought he could feel as narrow and full. His breath hitched at the thought and then left his lungs in a strangled sound as he felt a combination of pleasure, pain and pressure threatening to push him over the edge. It made him realize he might come untouched and his vanity suffered.<strike></strike></p><p>Alfie could almost feel that second ring of pressure high up inside Tommy, as tight, narrow and searing as everything else about him and the feel of the head brushing against it, added to Tommy clinging hard around his neck, grasping his flank and pulling him inside, made him try his best to hold on and make it last longer, but no one he'd ever been with smelled or clamped around him like that and Alfie found it hard to believe how little Tommy had to do to make him forget himself.</p><p>“God... The way you feel... 's just fuckin' criminal, mate.” Alfie panted into his ear.</p><p>A deep moan was all he got from Tommy, as his body clenched hard in response to his praising, making Alfie groan with a deep, long, hard thrust. So far up inside, Tommy yelped in pleasure, pain and surprise, tilting his hips in a last effort to fit him fully and Alfie appreciated the angle, for he could bury himself even deeper into Tommy's smothering heat, feeling him shudder while getting lost in it, unconsciously baring his neck. He instinctively tried to allure.</p><p>He had to draw back or he'd mark him good. So, he pushed back to refrain from biting, holding him steady and pressed to the wall by drawing fists to grab around his holster straps, keeping him in place. Tommy drew his forearm to rest above his head. It was the only leverage he still had before Alfie shifted once again, slightly changing the angle of penetration, inching him up the wall and earning an exquisite sound from Tommy; a long, lewd groan.</p><p>He gave a few last thrusts that quickly became erratic, but he went in so deep. Tommy realized Alfie was close too. To Alfie tough, it was only a matter of diplomacy not to spill inside. The gipsy had warned him about knotting him, so he started to pull out, but Tommy seemed to catch on his intention and only whined deeply, by instinct, reaching back with one hand, grabbing the hem of his pants and pulling him in. <strike></strike></p><p>"C'mon, Alfie… Spend inside me," he spurred with ragged breathing, gasping between clenched teeth and he unarmed him. Always so blunt, as if he couldn't be embarrassed by the things he said.</p><p>“Fucking’ hell…That mouth of yours…” Alfie panted into his ear between ragged breaths, thrusting even harder. He groaned deeply and pressed on Tommy's lower belly. Never really gentle. Too strong to be delicate.</p><p>"C’mon, don't worry…" Tommy panted. "It's ok," he encouraged again, "I'm barren,” and Alfie stabbed really hard as a response. Tommy stretched thin in a final effort to fit him all in, even though his last words had made the other man mourn a primal sorrow. It seemed only his women would give him brood. He’d never bear for him. That was such a shame it was almost painful and it reached out in a low, wounded groan.</p><p>Tommy almost mourned with Alfie at that sound, feeling sorry for the first time for what he’d done to his body and frowned in disbelief, but gritted his teeth as he pushed back to meet him half way instead, pressing himself onto him once again, as far and hard as he could, seeking to increase the already unbearable pressure building inside and he succeeded. "Ah!" His right hand still reached behind and travelled to grip Alfie's thigh, pulling him toward himself with all he had.</p><p>His walls pulsed around him before a first clench came like a vice, followed by a rhythm compassed by Tommy's orgasm, which slowly came in waves, each stronger than the last -and that field seemingly in bloom-, making Alfie hunch over him while gripping his hips hard enough to bruise them even worse and finally shooting deep inside, each wave followed by a spurt. So hot and deep Tommy felt like leaving his own body.  </p><p>"Ah,… Hah!" The gipsy muffled all those low, throaty gasps and moans against Alfie's jaw and then graced his teeth against it as he buried his nose behind the man's ear, groaning and bucking as he spasmed and came untouched against the wall and his own abdomen. The strength of Tommy’s climax made him tighten so bad Alfie struggled to stay inside while Shelby clutched the back of his thigh like iron. <em>Fucking intoxicating</em>.</p><p>There was no elegance in it, only Tommy’s thirst to fill a growing void. One he’d often tried to feed with whiskey, laudanum and prostitutes, but the heat of Alfie seeding inside him had Tommy partially gone and pulsing around him. A rhythmical clenching that drove both insane. Tommy had never felt that way; he’d come hard before, but it had never washed from so deep inside. He just couldn’t think anymore, oblivious to the consequences of his doing, threatening to cause a rut in such an aggressive alpha, but his orgasm kicked hard and it wasn't only physical, for Alfie behaved like no one he'd ever been with.</p><p>Both were totally lost and all Alfie could smell, see, hear, taste, feel, or be, was concentrated on Tommy splayed against the wall, all taut muscles and silent cries. However, he pulled out as soon as possible, stealing Tommy the chance to float in his high. He had to, or he'd just knot him and do real harm. He could feel the ghost of a rut threatening to take over. He still reached down though, using his own hand to finish himself off, still shooting a last load on Tommy's lower back and then riding it out by squeezing himself up the cleft of his ass, still delightful, but such a sad substitute for his constricting warmth and molten heat.</p><p>Alfie gave up a deep sigh into the crook of his neck, lost in that field, smoothing a hand and smearing his seed on Tommy's skin as he caressed the curve of his lower back, resting part of his weight on it. Alfie's instinct made him hold the gipsy still if only for a few seconds. Tommy could feel his hipbones digging cold against the brick, supporting Alfie's weight and gasped, resting his forehead on soothing stone. His own breath hot on his face as he struggled to come back to his senses.</p><p>It was too dangerous to lose oneself like that. So bad you lost track of reality, but Tommy was just fucking exquisite, so one of a kind. He had a soft spot for valuable things and Shelby was truly unique. <em>A fucking black diamond</em>, danced through Alfie’s mind as they huffed and puffed for a few seconds. He could feel Tommy's ribs pressed between him and the brick and Shelby could feel Alfie’s strong chest heaving against him, weighing him down while he nuzzled behind his ear, sending a last wave of shivers down his spine before he pushed back for him to get off his back. After pulling his pants up, the gipsy turned around to face him, supporting himself or his legs would give.</p><p>Tommy was trying to recover his breath, but Alfie went for his neck, kissing along the side as he drew a forearm to frame his head. His free hand travelled down, fingers splayed on his belly as he rubbed his forehead against Tommy’s jaw, nuzzling the top of his neck and taking a deep breath. The gipsy let him do, tilting his chin up before tensing up and starting to push Alfie away again, for he could feel his erection against his thigh. Such endurance. <em>No, no more</em>… He just couldn’t take any more.</p><p>“Stop, Alfie, I can’t…”</p><p>Alfie knew he couldn’t ask that much from Tommy. Virgin omegas shouldn’t be knotted nor rutted on or could be hurt. So, he withdrew to lean back next to him, quickly fastening his clothes before staring at the gipsy. However, Tommy wouldn't look him in the eye, he just hung his head back and rested it against the wall, looking for balance as he quickly rearranged his own shirt and pants. When he was done, he straightened up and remained thoughtful for a few seconds, fighting to regain his composure.</p><p>Alfie had crossed his arms as if waiting for something. Anything.</p><p>It didn’t take long before Tommy felt compelled by instinct. His body had to know, as well as his mind and perhaps even his heart. Before he noticed, he’d turned and reached out to tug at Alfie’s collar, baring that plain between shoulder and neck. He could trace the ghost of a scar. Too faint to be noticed if not looked for.</p><p>Alfie caught his frown. It had been a fraction of a second, but Tommy hadn’t been fast enough to hide it. Still, Solomons knew they shouldn’t go down that path. Things could get complicated.</p><p>“That was a long time ago,” and now he was the one putting distance between them, leaning back on his desk. “Long before the war.”</p><p>Tommy kept quiet for a few seconds. Disheveled hair and looking smug, he wouldn’t even appoint the subject.</p><p>“I still want that twenty percent clean this month, we clear, Alfie?”</p><p>
  <em>Twenty?</em>
</p><p>“Fuck off, Tom”, and he did.</p><p>As soon as he left London, he pulled over on the side of the road, getting out of the car while gasping for fresh air. He was going to be sick. Tommy was still shaking and had broken a cold sweat once again. Unable to help himself, he just puked his guts on the grass. He'd been on an adrenaline high and hadn't realized.</p><p>He'd never taken someone into his body and everything had happened so fast he seemed to be floating in an aftershock. And he savored it. He knew this feeling. It was familiar. His head spun as he remembered. <em>Yes</em>, he was <em>shocked</em>.</p><p>His body complained, aching and replaying it all over in his head, assaulting him with a sudden realization. One he wasn't willing to pay much attention to, but it whispered he'd just technically asked and let Alfie force himself on him and it hadn't really been Alfie's fault. He’d just kept quiet, not only robbing Alfie the satisfaction of taking his time with him, but also robbing himself the chance to take even more pleasure on that first encounter.  </p><p>However, it'd still felt so fucking good to be pinned down and fucked senseless by Alfie and, he hadn't been wrong, he was rather aggressive in his mating. Still, it wasn’t that he was emotional about it, but he was proud and knew he could have done better.</p><p>He had to reconcile with himself. For the first time since Grace died, he felt ashamed. Closing his eyes, he felt the wind on his face, messing his hair. When he opened them again, she was there. He caught her out the corner of his eye, flashing him that permanent half smile.</p><p>"Oh, there's a man now, Grace." He cooed, feeling the wind again, a part of him hoping it'd just carry his words away. "Yes, there's a man."</p><p> </p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>-Thanks for reading! <br/>-Already working on the next chapter. :)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Illustration on "Acceptance"</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>A sketch based on "Acceptance".</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>-Thank you so much for all your support, you've been amazing!<br/>-I'm sorry I'm not posting the next chapter, but  muses bring illustrations this time. Hope to be posting another one based on "Bargain" after updating the story if you like the style.<br/>-The bitemark was supposed to show more, be bloodier, I might come back to it. :)<br/>-Thanks again for all your feedback, kudos and comments are always greatly appreciated!<br/>-Really hope you like it!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Loss</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Tommy gets beaten by Hughes' men and loses more than his sight.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>-I'm so sorry for the slow update, I'm a slow writer.<br/>-Please remember English isn't my native language and my OCD won't let me post these unless I've edited like crazy.<br/>-You are amazing! I feed on your feedback! :D Thank you for leaving kudos and comments!<br/>-It's my first time writing A/B/O and it's so much fun, I really hope you enjoy this as much as I enjoy writing it.<br/>-I thought about a series, but I think I'm letting it all bundled up together.<br/>-If you're here after all the tagging, I think you're up for a bumpy ride. Still, if you're triggered by this, it touches misgarriage and Tommy being somehow cynical/careless about it.<br/>-I'm sorry it's short, but I edited the dialogue between them. They will have their time. They will pull through! ;)<br/>-Thank you sooo much, you all! I'm beyond humbled and thankful!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>When he got home that day, he took a long bath. The warm water soothed his aching body before he sank into bed, rubbing a hand on the bruise Alfie had left on the crest of his hip, lulling himself to sleep, only to wake up at the break of dawn.</p><p>Still, his body wouldn't stop, making him dream through endless nights as weeks passed by. Thus, dealing with business by day, late and deep in the dark, he was Alfie’s. The man came to him like a shadow seeping through the flames of that bonfire, lurking and hiding in the corners of his bedroom. Recurring visions stirring the few hours of sleep he could catch.</p><p>He’d feared these apparitions, but he had never imagined how pleasant and seductive they could get, loving when Alfie flashed that smirk at him across the room.</p><p>When he got like this, he usually smoothed that deep, ravenous bruise Alfie had crowned the crest of his hip with, almost a compulsion by now. It had slowly gone from crimson red to a changing combination of blue, purple and green. Scarring toothmarks clearly patterned on his skin too. So unaligned. Alfie didn't smile much, the same as he, but he could clearly see his sensually crooked teeth and canines there.</p><p>He sighed at the memory of the man’s nose digging into the hollow of his hips. The harsh brush of his beard on his neck, and the sudden feel of Alfie filling him up crawled up his spine and nestled in the back of his mind, jolting down his back.</p><p>His other hand went to rest on his flat belly in resignation, trying to mimic the splay of Alfie’s hand on it. It had looked big and strong, feeling calloused and warm. Thus, his nights dragged on, lost in flames roaring in a darkness that smelled of Alfie’s distillery. When he woke up, startled, the smoke still lingered in his nose, tongue and lungs, the same way deep sandalwood had.</p><p>He felt somewhat naive for thinking a quick fuck would satisfy such a thirst. That time with Alfie, he’d felt as if he'd been out of his body and, now, he craved for more, so much more. Mind, body and spirit did, for he still felt as if they’d stopped at foreplay.</p><p>The contact had been brief, but it had made him dream of his calloused ways and manhandling, which only spoke to Tommy of silent and sensual promises of sexual violence and dominance given the time and place.</p><p>Busy with the Russians though, he'd avoided the alpha, phoning him for their monthly numbers. He could hear the man frowning throughout their whole conversation, but Tommy decided he’d see about that next time they met, or whenever his next heat kicked in. However, unused to keeping record of his body, he hadn’t realized that should have been two weeks ago and it wouldn’t happen again as soon as he thought.</p><p>Someone had told Hughes he was planning to kill him and his thugs had left him totally broken. He didn't remember the trip to the hospital, though he had slipped in and out of consciousness. Still, he couldn't stop thinking something besides the obvious was going on every time wakefulness kicked in. He could tell there was something off.</p><p>He knew pain. This was a different kind though. It didn't come from his wounds or broken bones. It tore from deeper inside. His body had probably tried to warn him, but he had been too wrapped up in his affairs with the Russians to have paid any mind. Now, there was an alien warmth coming from his lower abdomen as he laid in a hospital bed stripped to his underpants. It was silent, but constant. Totally relentless.</p><p>And suddenly, it happened. It soared through him and a wounded howl rose from his throat, coarse and beastly, as every other broken thing inside his body was shaken by the violence of his contracting muscles. Numbing pain was all his mind could process and the doctor and the nurse struggled to hold his head down tightly, trying to avoid him from moving too harshly. Still, his body arched in reflex and, <em>fuck</em>, how it hurt. Added to all the damage he'd taken and the buzzing pain numbing his head, it was just too much.</p><p>Then, right when he thought it might be subduing as rapidly as it had come, it ripped through his body again. Once more, through his chest and throat, rose a shout that ended in something awful, a sound too similar to a smothered hiccup. He clenched his teeth and fisted the sheets, squirming in pain as it washed over him.</p><p>Alarmed, Ada had entered the room at the sound of his painful howling, only to find him trying to curl into himself while the nurse and doctor fought to hold him still, but Tommy couldn't really see beyond the pain, it was blinding, and a warm wetness had started pooling between his thighs. It caused the smell of iron to grow so much stronger and his shoulders spasmed weakly before he clenched his jaw and flared his nostrils, as if breathing hard and deep would spare him from it all.</p><p>With eyes lost and looking through the ceiling before scrunching them shut, tears of pain rolled down his temples as he cursed. Something deep inside him started calling for Alfie and the pull was so strong it startled him.</p><p>“Ada…” Tommy heaved. “Call Alfie Solomons…” He finally grasped between clenched teeth. It had been the last thing on his list, ask for Alfie’s help, but he hadn’t made it. He might just kill two birds with one stone: his body's primal stubbornness about this and his own need to know he could count on the Jew’s wit and brain to plot against these people.</p><p>However, feeling wet from his hips down by now, he reached a hand down and caught a glimpse of blood on his fingers as he wrapped his other arm around his waist. He'd frowned and tried to focus, but he was finally falling into darkness.</p><p>It seemed to have passed and Ada watched him slip out of it as he lied on a growing pool of blood around his middle and between his thighs. She couldn’t help but notice his right hip was crowned by a vicious, awful bruise, the trace of a bite-mark that sprung to the eye. Nailed to the spot, she bore witness to Tommy’s evident state and loss.</p><p>A couple of hours later, she phoned Solomons, leaving a message, and Ollie went looking for him at home, saying Tommy Shelby had had an accident and was asking for him. Alfie knew something was wrong. This was irregular, even for the gipsy. So, he got up and went to the hospital, hoping the man wasn't dead by the time he got there. <strike></strike></p><p>Ada didn't know what to expect and felt rather curious about Solomons. She’d only heard about the man when they talked about London, but hadn’t actually met him. She knew his reputation though, and there was always a tinge of respect and admiration whenever Tommy talked about him.  </p><p>However, she had always thought her brother would spend his life without letting an alpha get close. Let alone a male. Sure there had to be something special about Solomons for Tommy to ask for him at the time. Him being so badly hurt. Her brother must have been quite impressed and rather smitten to have let this happen. She knew him as much and, as soon as the man arrived, she understood.</p><p>Solomons filled the whole room with his presence, but she wouldn’t have expected any less from Tommy. He aimed high even with the alpha he’d chosen. However, ambitious to the end, Tommy seemed to have this one hooked indeed.  Him showing up when her brother had called only made her realize Solomons had probably fathered the pup he’d just lost. She had an eye for that and there was no mistaking that scent. It was too deep and Tommy had been smelling like it, if only faintly and at times, but Alfie had scented him good.</p><p>So, she briefed him about his fractures. With a battered skull, it was key for him to live through the night. Alfie listened carefully before Ada walked him into the room, stopping a couple of feet behind him and keeping quiet about Tommy’s loss. That was to be discussed between them and no one else, and then again, only if Tommy decided to do so.</p><p>So, she’d signaled for Alfie to wait for a second as she touched Tommy’s shoulder. “He’s here.” It reached Alfie’s ears before Ada turned to look at him.  </p><p>Alfie walked slowly towards the bed, seizing Tommy's state. Only the lights coming from the streets and hall showered the room. He looked like a fucking ghost. How come had he lost that much blood? It was so quiet he couldn't even hear him breathe.</p><p>"He said something about needing your help with a holy man, but I don’t think he’ll be able to say much for a few days."</p><p>Alfie frowned. He knew the man at hand and he was really bad news, he’d been roaming his territory too, but he’d only nodded without taking his eyes off Tom. He looked broken. He'd definitely been messing with the wrong crowd, even after Arthur and Alfie himself had warned him about the Russians.</p><p>Closing the distance, Solomons stood by his side and reached out, but stopped before touching him. So many bruises he hesitated, fingers hovering over his chest and then his belly, finally landing a hand on his abdomen, lightly and slowly splaying his fingers on it. Smoothing Tommy’s skin. So docile it didn’t feel right.</p><p>There was nothing sexual to his petting. It only stroke Ada as deeply affectionate and she suddenly felt sorry for them; being feral, Tommy was too wild sometimes. Now, unsuppressed, he would go savage. Nonetheless, she couldn’t help feeling as if she was witnessing something too personal for Tom, even somehow forbidden and never meant for others to see. Again, this was only between his brother and that Jewish gang leader, whose sole presence seemed to speak for his investment in her brother, business or friendship. She could tell that much.</p><p>“You do know he’s feral, don’t you?” It had just slipped out of worry for her brother and Alfie turned to look at her, but both could notice him slightly flaring his nostrils before he opened his eyes and looked at him through shiny slits. He couldn't move much with those braces around his skull. Couldn't see very well either, and Alfie took in that wound stitched on the side on his head.</p><p>She watched the man as he leant over her brother, but Tommy was out cold. He could have been dreaming or hallucinating, just trapped inside his head, but Alfie’s scent reached his nose like the most intoxicating perfume. <em>Sandalwood</em>.</p><p>
  <em>Alfie. </em>
</p><p>When Ada saw Tommy starting to stir from unconsciousness at the man's presence, she decided to leave them alone. She had to notify the doctor and then she'd wait outside the room for a little while, just keeping guard. <strike></strike></p><p>"Called for me, Tom?" Came a low and husky whisper, but Tommy only stared at him for a few seconds, dazed, dreamy and drugged, before slipping out of it again. His scent had mellowed so badly, laying low and looking to hide. A dying flame. That blooming field of his was gone. The rest only stank of blood loss, anger and fear.</p><p>"Fuck, Tom, just look at yourself..." He muttered mostly to himself, getting nothing from the man, so he just gave up a loud sigh, turning to grab a chair and sitting down next to him, leaning on his cane as he often did. It would be a long night. For both.</p><p>Alfie closed his eyes and concentrated on Tommy’s breathing, drowning in a mantra of silent prayers as he listened to the doctor come and go, never losing focus on his slightly heaving chest. He didn’t notice when he’d leaned over the bed, one ear to Tommy's chest, arm drawn across his waist, but he had felt the gipsy’s weak hand slowly reaching up to sluggishly dig his cold fingers into his hair.</p><p>As if returned from the dead, Alfie had thanked his god. He’d spent all night listening to Tommy’s breathing and Ada’s coming and going and, he’d been so lost in Tom, he had barely realized the sun would be rising soon. He could hear the blackbirds sing and gave up a long sigh, as if he’d been holding his breath.</p><p>He straightened up to look at Shelby. He had opened his eyes and stared at him again through that half-lidded stare. Pupils brown wide from the morphine and the injury itself. Still, Tommy managed to let his hand linger on Alfie’s hair -eyes dreaming still- before letting it curl into a fist and slowly run his knuckles down that facial scar parting his beard. Alfie instinctively let himself lean into his touch.</p><p><em>Perhaps, </em>he mused, <em>he could remain loyal to this man. </em>Thus, he’d gone back the next day to sit by his bed for a while, and then a couple of days afterwards, but then that aunt Polly had said <em>only gypsies and family. </em></p><p>Alfie gritted his teeth and squinted his eyes at her, but nodded patiently. He wouldn’t argue with the Shelbies. Alfie, better than many, knew Tommy was his own man. It was one of the things he'd found most alluring about him. He’d come around. He was out of danger anyways.</p><p>To Tommy, though, the world had turned into blurry shadows and echoing voices during those first two weeks at the hospital, where Grace occasionally flashed before him and the shadow of Alfie sometimes leaned on a corner. It had taken a few days to gather enough glimpses and memories, but most parts had finally come back to him. Ada told him about the rest.</p><p>“Alfie fucking Solomons, Tommy? Aren’t you biting more than you can chew?" She hadn’t known when to touch the subject, but she was worried about him and she didn’t want Tommy to take it the wrong way, knowing he never talked about his status.</p><p>Tommy took a deep draught of smoke and closed his eyes for a second, savoring it. Breathing out a nice curtain of smoke that slowly spread around him. Hee refused to discuss this with anyone.</p><p>"It doesn't matter, it's gone now.” He replied flatly.<strike></strike></p><p>“Does he feel the same?”</p><p>He gave up a loud sigh.</p><p>"I don't care, Ada. I'm just glad it's gone.” He paused for another drag. “At least one of my problems took care of itself, don't you think? I have enough with Charlie as it is.”</p><p>“I always knew you would attract someone unusual when it came to that part of yourself you keep so ferociously hidden,” she flashed her eyebrows, interested and amused, for this definitely stroke her as a novelty. “Quite a character, I see, that brave, wretched soul.”</p><p>She knew Alfie must be no saint, but she couldn’t help keep feeling somewhat sorry for the man. She knew Tommy and had learned and witnessed how it was never easy with him. He was too wild, too heartbroken, too sensible in his own way. In that, they were so much alike. Thus, she could understand. They were nature's children after all. Savage and superstitious; a dying kind indeed.</p><p>“Even sent you a present. It’s waiting for you in your office.”</p><p>Tommy gave up a loud sigh, producing a cloud of smoke himself and closing his eyes for a second. He wondered.</p><p>“Planning on sending something back?” It was only her way of asking if he reciprocated the alpha’s intentions.</p><p>“I don’t know.” And she could tell he was being honest.</p><p>One way or the other, days kept passing by and he was really pissed about this. Not because of his loss in itself, he really couldn’t care less about bearing and would have gotten rid of it anyways, but because he hadn’t seen it coming and he should have.</p><p>When he’d told the doctor about having made himself barren, the specialist had refrained from smiling and looked at him with arched eyebrows that couldn’t quite hide his surprise, but the answer had been clear. <em>There’s no such thing, Mr. Shelby.</em> <em>If they didn’t cut you open, there’s no reason why you couldn’t bear. </em></p><p>Of course they'd ripped him off. He'd been young and rather naive but, if he never talked about this with anyone, how could he have known? Still lying in bed, Tommy had only taken his hands to his face and cursed. It had been his fault. Alfie had nothing to do with it, he'd just planted the seed, but years of black-market suppressants, what he'd thought had been chemical sterilization treatments, no knot, no real heat and then a beating... There was only so much abuse his body and reproductive system could take, <em>right</em>? He mused with a rather bitter smile.</p><p>Drugged and resentful though, he swore he’d get back at the man. No matter it hadn’t been wanted, no matter he probably would have gotten rid of it, nobody took decisions away from Tommy Shelby, nor could live to threaten his family. Thus, he'd plotted and schemed as he laid there; a mind like his never kept idle, ready to take action as soon as he could go back to business. The Order would get what it wanted, but he was sure they could spare the messenger.</p><p> </p><p>Now, it had almost been three months, but when he went home, he found Alfie had sent him something, just like Ada had said. It waited for him in his office. A crate of white rum. <em>For the bosses</em>, he remembered and, <em>damn</em>, it made him smile in earnest. Alfie had a unique way of soothing his ego, and Tommy started to realize he really liked his ways. He had to grant him that.</p><p>He noticed something tugged between the bottles, though. A book. And if he squinted his eyes only right, there it was, "The Golem", and right on the first page, squinting even harder, he could read “<em>A small token of appreciation. -A. S</em>.” in sketchy calligraphy, which only brought an even smugger smile to his lips.</p><p>These were gifts for him and he reveled in them. Nobody ever really gave him anything but his mother and he’d grown up without many things. He’d made his fair share of presents too, but he’d never actually been depositary of such attentions. Working hard one way or another to get his hands on whatever he wanted had been an early lesson. Whether it was through thieving, gambling or hustling.</p><p>It only made him wonder how far Alfie would go in his courting, for there was no other way of seeing this. Not after their last conversation. Not after he’d gone straight for his throat.</p><p>Thus, taking it to his nose and thumbing the pages, he didn’t have to be really versed on this to realize Alfie had been scenting this for days and Tommy closed his eyes with a frown as he took a deep breath. It was a fight against instinct he now knew he couldn’t win and he wasn’t that prone to struggle.</p><p><em>God, </em>that scent…</p><p>It had been a while, but heating again and drunk for days with Alfie’s rum, he was starting to get lost in an alcoholic daze, longing for the pleasure Alfie had made him feel. Poppy and alcohol pulled their tricks on him though and he should have seen it coming.  </p><p>Feeling drowsy, he would have to quit the morphine. It only intensified his already heated train of thought, making his feverish fantasies turn into lucid dreams in which Alfie usually came to him emerging from the shadows, a changing palette of light and dark, aflame and slowly crawling into his bed and on top of him, weighing him down.</p><p>He’d always stretched his hand towards Grace but, this time, she’d have to understand. So, he turned away, only to find Alfie staring down at him questioningly.</p><p>Tommy tried hard to get a hold on himself, but his mind was still numb from the fracture and, added to the morphine he’d been abusing, his body ruled over, striving for survival and a different set of needs to be met. Thus, he’d started roaming the streets stark naked at night, drugged senseless, grieving for a cub his body seemed to mourn by instinct and searing in a heat that had been delayed for weeks, but the symptoms had only intensified after his last meeting with Alfie.  </p><p>It didn’t matter John and Arthur had already gone fetch him a couple of times. In his alcohol and opium induced visions, Alfie sometimes took him to bed and usually fucked him slow at first, grinding their hips together, petting and caressing the plains of his body the way only he had. Covetous and hungry. His eyes shining as if he was laying his hands on something truly valuable.</p><p>Other nights, he couldn't stop thinking about Alfie charging at him like a fucking bull, picturing the Jew mounting him every way his imagination and desire were able to conjure and, <em>hell</em>, that impossible stretch; it only added to the searing warmth that had spread through his body as Alfie rammed into him. He couldn't help the hot breath leaving his lungs, but suppressed the lewd moan that reached to his lips.</p><p>These dreams haunted the few hours of sleep he managed to get and were so intense he usually woke up slick to his thighs, painfully hard and gasping for air, as if his heats never subdued. <em>What the hell was going on</em>? The ghost of sandalwood hung in his nose as he laid there, half awake and half asleep.</p><p>He usually lingered on the numbing illusion of that enticing smell as he snaked a hand down to rub on that awful bruise Alfie had left on his hipbone, almost disappearing, but quite a habit by now. His free hand travelled to cover his eyes as he closed them and smoothed his hand on the scarred crest of his hipbone before moving to let it flatten on his lower abdomen, lost in trying to evoke the pressure of having Alfie inside him, but only whimpered in frustration.</p><p>Curling on his side, he went back to that fading scar, thumbing it back and forth the same way Alfie had, but it only served as a sad emulation of the man’s caress and grasp. Lost in his trances, he just snaked a hand down beneath his underpants, barely drawing a knee up in order to reach further down and gather some slick before travelling back up.</p><p>Griping himself hard, he thought of Alfie’s strong, vicious grip on his waist and hips as he took him hard, raw and primal and, <em>damn</em>, did it build fast, tensing his back and arching up, making him rock into his own hand, but there was no comparison and he suffered. He really did.</p><p>Turning to lie on his side, he looped an arm around his middle. Had he exerted the same power over Alfie? Had he caused the same in him? Had it been how Alfie felt when his hands shook while gripping his hips so hard? He couldn’t stop wondering, because now…</p><p>Now he was wretchedly fucked with grief and whatever this man had started to make him feel.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>-Thank you so much for reading! I'm already working on the next chapter.<br/>-Kudos and comments are always greatly appreciated! They get this author going! </p><p>XOXOXOXO</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Illustration on "Bargain"</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Detail of a quick sketch on "Bargain".</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>-Thank you so much for all your support, I honestly couldn't ask for more. You're amazing!<br/>-I know I said I'd update the story first, I'm so sorry!<br/>-However, I've had fun sketching these two and I really hope you enjoy the result!<br/>-Thanks again for all your feedback, kudos and support! They really get this author going!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <h1>
  
</h1>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>-Hope to be updating the story in a couple of weeks! They'll be meeting again, and I guess it will be time for some plot, lol! :D<br/>-Comments and kudos are always, always greatly appreciated!<br/>-Thanks again! You're the best!<br/>-XOXOXO</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
</body>
</html>